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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25907299">Broken</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/meils121/pseuds/meils121'>meils121</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Leverage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Robots &amp; Androids, Androids</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:08:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>880</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25907299</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/meils121/pseuds/meils121</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Parker decides that the man doesn’t pose a risk and pokes him in the chest.  Her finger meets with a hard surface, much more sturdy than human skin and bones.  “You’re an android.”  She says.  </p><p>“Yes.  And you are human.  What are my orders?”</p><p>Parker studies the man - no, android - for a second.  “Why did you say you were broken?”</p><p>“I am broken.”  The android repeats.</p><p>Parker has taken a liking to this strange android.  “Okay.”  She says, and thinks.  “Well, then we need to find a doctor.  Are there doctors for androids?”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>64</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>The Leverage Exchange Master Collection</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Broken</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/phnelt/gifts">phnelt</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Parker likes to collect things.  She doesn’t have a particular rhyme or reason to her collecting, only that everything she collects has caught her eye.  She’s got sparkling jewels and paintings by Renaissance artists and a hoverboard with diamonds in the wheels.  She’s got a collection of 19th century hairpins that she stole for no reason other than that they were interesting to look at and a set of comic books that she stole because if they were in a vault that difficult to break into, they had to be worth something.  </p><p>She’s in Montenegro right now, in the vacation home of one of the richest men in the world.  His vault, sadly, is boring.  Lots of weapons that Parker has no interest in and boxes and boxes of documents that Parker doesn’t feel like sorting through.  A waste of time, she thinks, but at least she got to practice on the Ignatiev 370-X safe.  And the lasers were a cute touch.</p><p>She turns to leave and instead comes face to face with - huh.  </p><p>“Who are you?”  Parker says to the man in front of her.  Then, frowning, she leans closer and says, “What are you?”</p><p>“Broken.” Parker’s frown deepens.  It certainly looks like a man - long hair tied back in a ponytail; muscular; dressed in a white dress shirt and a tie.  But there’s something off about him, something that Parker notices not because she’s particularly good at reading people but because she is excellent at understanding the technology rich people use to protect their collections.  </p><p>Parker side steps around the man.  “I’m leaving.”  She says, because she’s fairly certain that whoever or whatever she’s just come across won’t stop her.  But the man reaches out a hand.  <br/>“I need help.”  He says.  “Please inform me of my orders.”</p><p>Parker decides that the man doesn’t pose a risk and pokes him in the chest.  Her finger meets with a hard surface, much more sturdy than human skin and bones.  “You’re an android.”  She says.  </p><p>“Yes.  And you are human.  What are my orders?”</p><p>Parker studies the man - no, android - for a second.  “Why did you say you were broken?”</p><p>“I am broken.”  The android repeats.</p><p>Parker has taken a liking to this strange android.  “Okay.”  She says, and thinks.  “Well, then we need to find a doctor.  Are there doctors for androids?”</p><p>----------------------------</p><p>	It turns out that there are, in fact, doctors for androids, at least if you do enough digging.  It takes Parker three days to hunt down hacker Alec Hardison, who supposedly is the world’s best when it comes to androids.  And, since Parker now considers Eliot (the android, of course) a friend, he deserves nothing but the best.</p><p>	Alec - “Call me Hardison” - buzzes them into his workshop.  Parker eyes the security measures they pass and wonders if she could beat them.  There’s things she’s never seen before.  Eliot comments that there are too many alarms for him to disable at this moment.  He’s constantly on the lookout for danger, Parker has found, and he seems to believe his job is to protect Parker.</p><p>	Hardison takes one look at Eliot and lets out a whistle.  “Tsukuda military android, right?  The latest model.”  He looks at Parker.  “Where did you find him?”</p><p>	“Montenegro.”  She says, because a good thief doesn’t reveal their specific whereabouts.  “He says he’s broken and he seemed sad so I brought him back with me.”</p><p>	“You stole a Tsukuda military android because he was sad?”  Hardison asks incredulously.  “That’s - girl, that’s impossible.  He should have killed you on sight.”</p><p>	“I am broken.”  Eliot interjects.</p><p>	Hardison leans forward.  “How so?”</p><p>	“I no longer wish to kill.  It’s not right.”</p><p>	There’s a long pause following Eliot’s statement.  “Holy shit.”  Hardison says finally.  “I knew it would happen!  Androids developing a conscious.”</p><p>	Parker looks between the two of them.  “What are you saying?”</p><p>	“He’s becoming human.”  Hardison says at the same time Eliot says, “I am broken.”</p><p>	“He’s not broken.”  Hardison says.  “You’re not broken.  You’re learning.”</p><p>	Eliot takes a minute to process this.  “Learning.”  He says.  “I can - I can be good?”</p><p>	Parker touches his arm.  “You are good.”  She tells him, and it’s true as far as she’s concerned.  All he’s done so far is try to protect her.  </p><p>	Hardison runs a few tests on Eliot and comes to the same conclusion.  The android has, somehow, gone from being a literal killing machine to developing a conscious.  There’s a lengthy discussion about how, exactly, Eliot reached the point that he no longer felt that killing was right.  At the end, though, Hardison’s able to confirm that Eliot is, in fact, not broken and that he’s relatively safe to be around.  </p><p>	“So what are you going to do?”  Hardison asks.</p><p>	Parker doesn’t hesitate.  “He can come live with me.”  She says.  “I mean, as long as you want to.”  </p><p>	Eliot looks like he’s never been asked his opinion before, and he may well not have.  “I would like that.”  He confirms.  “You are a friend.”</p><p>	Parker’s been working on her own for a very long time.  She never thought she’d want to work with anyone else, let alone let someone into her personal space.  But here they are, and she’s perfectly fine with it.</p><p>	“Friends.”  She agrees.</p>
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